The Tonys take on Twitter

Anyone who talks to me for five minutes knows that I am a huge Broadway fanatic. I would estimate that 90 percent of my iPod is devoted to showtunes. I spent 15 years of my life performing, so everything musical has become my passion.

As the Tony Awards are a little more than 24 hours away, I feel the need to celebrate The Great White Way’s use of social media. While there have been many Facebook and Myspace groups devoted to the love of the stage, larger things have emerged, such as BroadwaySpace.com, a social networking site for theater fans, actors, dancers, techies, producers, and more.

This year the Tony Awards created a Twitter account to inform fans about everything from leading up to the nominations to live tweeting from Tony night rehearsals. Many of the nominated shows started Twitter accounts and have been taking fans along for the ride on the way to the night of June 7.

While the demographic of Broadway fans may be smaller than that of American Idol or America’s Got Talent, the theater companies and shows have definitely found their niche in social media.

It has also opened up the opportunity for social activism. Broadway Impact, a movement to achieve marriage equality, has used social media as a tool to inform the public as well as recruit volunteers.

So: bravo, Broadway! I applaud you for taking social media into your own hands and spreading the love.

Broadway meets Twitter

If you follow me on Twitter or know me personally, you know I have an obsession for anything musical. I also have a passion for social media. I was attending a student performance of "The Last Five Years" last week and, as usual, during the director's speech, he asked everyone to turn off their phones. I followed suit, of course, but I know many people probably didn't.

With the advent of Twitter, a trend of live "tweeting" events was born. While I readily partake, especially during American Idol, I can't help but think that there are some times when you should just let your fingers rest and enjoy the art that is in front of you.

As a performer, I know how annoying, distracting, and disrespectful it is when people are texting or taking pictures while you are onstage. People may try to tell you that when you are on stage you can only see the first five rows, but I can tell you from personal experience that you can see way past that. Why come to the theater and potentially pay money when you could just sit at home doing the same thing?

My feeling on this is that it just is not the time or place to be linked to social media while at a play or concert or dance performance. The Arts provide an escape from reality, one much appreciated in such a fast-paced, on-the-go society.